Opinions vary on whether or not it's a good idea to leave your PC running 24 hours a day. However, a recent report from the Alliance to Save Energy says that the cost of refusing to power down 108 million PCs is costing businesses an estimated $2.8 billion a year.

Approximately 20 million tons of carbon dioxide -- roughly the equivalent of 4 million cars -- are emitted by those idling, unused PCs. (Source: usatoday.com)

The Alliance to Save Energy report analyzed workplace PC power consumption in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Wastefulness Affects Bottom Line and The Environment

Besides affecting a company's bottom line, the report (PDF format) says that leaving PCs powered up also creates environmental concerns. According to the report, if the world's 1 billion PCs were powered down just one night, enough energy would be saved to light the Empire State Building inside and out for over 30 years. (Source (PDF): 1e.com)

According to USA Today, many workers don't feel responsible for electricity bills at their work and some companies leave their PCs on at night so they can be patched and updated. However, 63% of employees surveyed believed their companies should do more to save PC power. (Source: usatoday.com)

Companies with 10,000 PCs could save approximately $260,000 a year and 1,871 tons of carbon dioxide emissions if they shut down their PCs at night.

More information can be found in the report (PDF) from the Alliance to Save Energy.

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